Considered the most famous figure in modern American feminism, Gloria Steinem was born in Toledo Ohio in 1934, granddaughter of famous feminist Pauline Steinem.

Attending school only sporadically until the age of ten due to the family's travels, she was the caretaker for her mother, who suffered a nervous breakdown when she and her husband divorced. Steinem was to later say that she felt her mother was a "non-person" and it wasn't until Gloria was a student at Smith College that she understood her mother's frustration at having had to give up her career upon marriage. Steinem was appalled at the lack of attention that had been paid to her mother's illness due to her gender.

Gloria Steinem graduated from Smith College in 1956, spent two years on a fellowship in India and upon returning home began working as a free-lance journalist. Her article for Esquire Magazine, "A Bunny's Tale," on her three weeks undercover adventures as a Playboy Bunny gathered her national attention for its searing portrayal of the working conditions and poor salaries in the Playboy Clubs but little respect from her peers.

Co-founder of New York Magazine in 1968, Steinem became active in many political causes, particularly women's issues. Covering abortion hearings in 1968, Steinem took criticism from male colleagues for her coverage that differed from the standard male party line, and became focused on feminist issues. Her attractiveness and youth helped belie the image of feminists as bra-burning battleaxes.

Co-founder of Ms. Magazine in 1971 with Dorothy Pitman Hughes, an African American feminist who helped shape Steinem's feminist philosophy, Steinem remains as a contributing editor to the present day. Her focus has been to bridge the gap between the white-oriented feminism of Betty Friedan and other pioneers and women of all races, whom she felt had been neglected by the earlier feminists. Steinem also, along with Bella Abzug and other Smith College friends helped found the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971.

Steinem was named 1972 Woman of the Year by McCall's Magazine. Her first book, , Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions was published in 1983, and was followed by a biography of Marilyn Monroe, Revolution From Within: A Book of Self-Esteem in 1992, and Moving Beyond Words/Age, Rage, Sex, Power, Money, Muscles : Breaking the Boundaries of Gender in 1995.

Steinem and other women investors formed a group in 1999 to re-purchase Ms. Magazine from a corporate owner who had acquired in 1989, feeling that the magazine had lost its commitment to women's issues. Never married, Steinem continues a busy writing and speaking career to the present day, despite a 1994 bout with trigeminal neuralgia which forced her to cancel a national speaking tour, and from which she has since completely recovered.

She is still actively speaking out concerning feminist issues, including a 1997 article condemning Hollywood's "cleaning up" of the image of pornographer Larry Flynt of Hustler Magazine in the movie, The People vs. Larry Flynt. She has also been active in the protest movement surrounding the Death Row conviction of Mumia Abu-Jamal. As a leading spokesperson for modern American feminism, she continues to be a role model and inspiration for women everywhere.